Press Room

Death by a thousand committees

By Eric Hartley

Sure, Annapolis has some problems. But nothing a good committee can't solve.

A crisis in education, particularly among poor and minority children? We've got a commission for that.

Growth and sprawl? An Economic Development Advisory Committee is in the works.

Trying to find a parking spot downtown? Over the years, there has been a committee, a commission and a coordinator.

Why, the city even has commissions for things you've probably never even thought of, such as the Art in Public Places Commission, the Recreation Advisory Board and the proposed Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. (Yes, apparently Honest Abe strolled down West Street in 1865 on his way to catch a boat ride.)

But all that is nothing compared with Annapolis' dedication to the environment. If a City Council bill introduced last week passes, there will be no fewer than three environmental boards, making this the greenest city around - mathematically, anyway.

There's already a nine-person citizens Environmental Commission and a seven-member Interdisciplinary Environmental Team made up of city staff members.

Now proposed is an Environmental Review Committee, made up of four city department heads. You have to give the city some credit; it must be hard just to come up with new names. A commission, a team and a committee - all we need now is a task force.

Here's the problem with all these committees and their ilk, as well-intentioned as their members surely are: They allow elected officials to duck responsibility for making tough choices.

They can point to a study, commission, committee or task force and say, "We're doing something."

"The report's due in six months" is the government version of "the check's in the mail."

Some committees spur considered action, but a lot just seem to ... exist. They hold meetings, churn out reports that sit on the shelf and make feel-good recommendations that are ignored or watered down into mush.

Talking is fine as a prelude to action, but not as a substitute for it.

"Everyone is skeptical of (committees)," said Alderman Ross Arnett, who supports the new environmental committee. "I'm skeptical of them as well. It's a typical government cop-out. ... We don't intend for this to be a cop-out."

Introduced at Monday's sometimes contentious council meeting, the committee is part of a broader effort to encourage the city government and residents to use more recyclable, reusable and compostable items.

The committee idea was the substitute for Alderman Sam Shropshire's proposal to ban plastic checkout bags, which died a not-so-quiet death over Mr. Shropshire's indignant protest.

Now, maybe the ban was a bad idea - it may have been unrealistic, too narrow in the face of huge environmental problems and ill-conceived. But at least Mr. Shropshire was taking a risk and trying to exercise some leadership. Whatever the city needs, it's surely not another committee.

Mayor Ellen Moyer defended the wealth of committees as a sign of a vital "participatory democracy."

"Damning citizens' committees is a cop-out in itself," she said. "We live in a representative society. How better to represent that ... than to have people involved in making decisions?"

Yes, it's nice that so many residents are willing to volunteer their time. But how about having the people we elect to lead us exercise some leadership?

Ms. Moyer listed her litany of accomplishments on the environment: increasing tree canopy, a public land trust, storm drain and stormwater legislation, rain gardens and an education center at Back Creek Park. And she said committee recommendations don't sit on a shelf in her administration.

That's very commendable; no one doubts she cares. But all that could have been accomplished without committees.

In any case, the mayor and aldermen promise this won't just be another committee. They're determined to act on the environment, and Mr. Arnett even invited the media to hold them to it.

"If you see us dragging our heels or losing momentum, I want to be held accountable," he told me.

Can I get that in writing?

Published Nov. 25, 2007, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2007 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.